The California DREAM Act, recently signed into law by Governor Gerry Brown, is the beginning of change for young undocumented immigrants, who had been denied the rights to pursue a college education with financial aid.

This is especially of interest to me because on November 15, 2010, I wrote about the plight of Steve Li of San Francisco. As the debate on the DREAM Act continued at that time, the drama of Steve Li came to the forefront of the news.  Efforts were made to halt his deportation by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).  Since then, Li’s case had been resolved and he was allowed to stay in this country.

Some opponents object to granting illegal immigrants benefits because they believe it would cut into the benefits of legal residents.  But I believe it is simple common sense to help these young people finance their college education.  Society has already invested in these students by providing them with a public education for years.

“Most of them graduated from public schools. As long as they are here, it is just as much in society’s interests as it is in theirs that they be productive, taxpaying workers with solid educational credentials.”

Of course, these young people still have to worry about their immigration status, which only Congress can resolve.  “AB 130 won’t alleviate the crisis, but it will crack open a window of opportunity for those students who, through no fault of their own, were brought here illegally, who studied hard and earned a spot in a college or university but now can’t afford it.”

On Monday, July 25, 2011, Governor Gerry Brown signed AB 130. Its passage, though neither complete nor ideal, can be considered as a partial victory for immigrant communities.  Some of you no doubt remember that the California DREAM Act had been previously approved by the state legislature but was vetoed three times by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in the past.

Now, finally the first hurdle is overcome.  However, undocumented immigrant students say “their fight for financial aid access is far from over in the state. The most important portion of the California DREAM Act has yet to pass, activists say.”

With this bill AB 130 signed into law, “undocumented immigrant college students will be eligible for privately funded non-state scholarships that they previously did not have access to at California community colleges, state colleges and public universities.”

This bill will cost taxpayers nothing, and so it was easily accepted and passed. Proponents hope that this is a steady step in the right direction.

The passing of this bill was made possible because “Assemblyman Gil Cedillo used a different strategy and split the DREAM Act into two bills when he reintroduced the DREAM Act. The second bill, AB 131, which is currently in suspension in Senate committee, is the more controversial and significant of the two bills.”

What the students are still fighting for is the passage of the second bill.  “It would allow undocumented students to access Cal Grants, the state financial aid and allow undocumented college students to qualify for Board of Governors fee waivers for community colleges which allows low-income students to have their tuition waived. AB 131 would also allow students at the University of California system to be eligible for university grants.”  This AB 131, if passed, will be the liberation of the  students affected.

Thus, to most of the students affected, AB 130 is just the tip of the iceberg.  The passage of AB 131 is necessary before these immigrant students can qualify for government grants, state and federal.  To these students, the passage of AB 130 is far from a victory for true social justice.

Personally, as an EV intern who has researched and written on different facets of global justice and social justice, I am hopeful that the legislature will pass AB 131 so that social justice can be achieved in this country, where we are supposed to have equal opportunity for all.

Sources

http://colorlines.com/archives/2011/07/fight_for_california_dream_act_not_over_even_as_ab_130_becomes_law.html

http://www.lafronteratimes.com/2011/07/california-dream-act-opening-college-doors/

Brian Wong

Team 4: Global Justice

Alameda, CA

August 3, 2011

© brianwong for East Villagers Non-Profit Community News, 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Her flagship organization is called the Barefoot Foundation. Here is the mission statement: “Education is the key to a better world for everyone, not just underprivileged children. Education is not just books and facts; it is also social and emotional growth. We help children exercise their basic right to an education, paving the way for their growth in society.” The name of the foundation is a double entendre – it both symbolizes the poverty the children who live in Colombia endure as well as being the name of Shakira’s album which made her famous.

The Barefoot Foundation hosts six schools in the Colombian cities of Barranquilla, Quibdo, and Altos de Cazuca. Around 5,000 Colombian children receive food, an education, and counseling services for themselves and their families from the Barefoot Foundation.

I have written in other articles about the worldwide epidemic of illiteracy, and its role in the vicious cycle of extreme poverty in countries such as Africa and Colombia. Shakira and her organization work not only directly with affected people but also with government officials, raising awareness about education issues as well as developing a Global Education Fund, which they hope to use to try to eradicate lack of education worldwide. The Barefoot Foundation works closely with donors and other non-profits to reach their yearly funding goal, which is 10 billion dollars.

It’s possible to work with the Barefoot Foundation and Shakira through several means. One possible way is to sponsor a Colombian child through the organization – $30 a month will go directly toward school books and clothes, food, and tutoring services. If you choose to sponsor a child, the Barefoot Foundation will send you a picture of the child along with a letter containing the child’s life story. Here’s the link if you decide that’s something you’d like to do: http://www.fundacionpiesdescalzos.com/barefoot-fundation/pages/howhelp/howhelp_sponsor_child_en.php

Donations are always accepted by the organization. You can donate directly online. $25 will actually pay for a child’s school supplies for a school year! Also, the Barefoot Foundation can always use furniture, books, and computers among other things for their schools. If any of that sounds like something you might be interested in, here’s the link: http://www.fundacionpiesdescalzos.com/barefoot-fundation/pages/howhelp/howhelp_donate_en.php

Lastly, the organization can always use volunteers to work hands-on in one of the three cities where the schools are located. If traveling to Colombia sounds like something you would love to participate in, check out the following link: http://www.fundacionpiesdescalzos.com/barefoot-fundation/pages/howhelp/howhelp_volunteer_en.php

Shakira’s story has given me hope that not all pop stars and celebrities consider themselves above the world they inhabit. She is a great example of someone who uses her influence to make a big difference in the world she knows.

Sources: http://www.fundacionpiesdescalzos.com/barefoot-fundation/index_en.php

Jenny Combs

Team 2: Servant Scholars

Grade 12

Alabaster, AL

© jennycombs for East Villagers Non-Profit Community News, 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: awareness, donations, Education, Service Scholars, volunteer

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

The most prevalent form of human rights abuse in Burma today is forced labour, including military forced labour (such as portering military supplies, standing sentry, building and maintaining Army camps, and going as human minesweepers), infrastructure forced labour (building and maintaining military supply roads, railways, hydro dams, etc.), forced labour growing cash crops and logging for the military, and many other kinds of labour. There is a common misconception that portering and other military forced labour only occurs in conflict areas, but in reality portering happens in rural areas nationwide wherever there are no roads, and military camp labour occurs everywhere, as SLORC (State Law & Order Restoration Council) continues to send more battalions into every part of the country to control the population.

Children are used for many kinds of forced labour by the Army. Usually as soon as a child is large enough to carry a basket or break a rock, he or she must go for labour with the adults. The youngest children taken for road and railway building are usually aged 8 or 10, while the youngest taken for heavy portering duties are usually 12-year-old boys and 14-year-old girls. As one 17-year-old girl recently said that she’s had to go since 5 years ago, when she was 12 years old. She and others had to go anytime their boss ordered, because if they didn’t their boss would come and catch them. As she grew older they noticed, so the boss gave her heavier and heavier-loads. She’s carried weapons, bullets, 5 big shells….Conditions for porters are brutal, including forced marches over mountainswith heavy loads, given only handfuls of rice per day or forced to bring their own food, being beaten for going too slowly and left to die if they get sick or weak. The smaller children are generally given lighter loads, but they are still sometimes beaten and they are also sent in front of the military column with the others as human minesweepers and shields. In one typical case in January 1995, Naw Sah Mu, a 15-year-old girl from Papun District in Karen State, stepped on a landmine while portering and had her right leg blown off, while her 16-year-old girlfriend Zaw Zaw Oo was hit in the face by the shrapnel and blinded. Many children die after they get back home from diseases contracted while portering combined with exhaustion.

SLORC battalions generally prefer male porters because they can carry heavier loads, but some battalions deliberately demand or capture women porters in order to rape them at night. SLORC soldiers generally select young unmarried girls under 18 for rape. We have interviewed 15-year-old girls who have been taken as porters, forced to carry 15-20 kg. loads all day and then raped at gunpoint by one or more soldiers every night for a whole month. On returning home, some discover they are pregnant and attempt to abort using primitive methods, sometimes dying in the process. The girls fear that if the village learns that she has been raped, no one will want to marry her.

Women and men with small infants also have to go as porters. In some cases, a woman can be seen carrying a baby on her chest and a heavy load of mortar shells on her back. In other cases, the soldiers order her to leave the infant behind in the village, where she must hope the other villagers will take care of it. Many of these infants are still breastfeeding.

Women with infants must also go for rotating shifts (usually 3 to 7 days) building and maintaining Army camps, cooking, cleaning and doing errands for the soldiers, and standing sentry. These labour assignments are rotated by family, so if a family’s turn comes and there are no able-bodied adults, a child must go. Young girls who go are often raped by soldiers at the camp. In conflict areas, able-bodied men are often afraid to go because the soldiers often accuse able-bodied men of being rebels and torture or execute them, so a woman or child is sent instead. Along military supply roads in conflict areas, women and children are often ordered out every morning to sweep the road to expose any vehicle landmines. Sometimes the soldiers will then force a large number of children to climb on board an Army truck or bullock cart and pass slowly along the road (the soldiers know that the villagers support opposition groups, so they hope that the villagers will then tell the opposition not to lay any mines in fear for their children).

Forced labour on roads, railways and other infrastructure is becoming ever more prevalent as SLORC pushes its “development” agenda. On these projects, SLORC usually sends written orders to villages demanding a quota of one or more labourers per household for shifts of one or two weeks; usually a family’s turn will occur once per month on each project in their area (this is in addition to all other forced labour as porters and at army camps). Theyreceive no pay and have to take all their own food and tools. Children often go because their parents must stay home to work the fields and get food for the family. No excuses are accepted; even if the parents are sick or if the household consists of a grandmother caring for her orphaned grandchild, someone must go or a replacement must be hired. On many projects, the Army assigns each village or family a specific work quota each time rather than a time period, so parents take along their children in order to finish the work assignment as quickly as possible so they can return home. On major projects such as the Ye-Tavoy railway line in southern Burma, families must send someone for 2-week shifts every month, and children as young as 8 or 10 make up a large part of the labour force – particularly in rainy season, because then the parents must work in the ricefields. Rainy season is also when railway labour is the most brutal, and mud embankments collapse killing the workers. (to be continued…)

© tranthuhien for East Villagers Non-Profit Community News, 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Of the 52 million children in Myanmar (Burma), 40% are children and young people. Many don’t have access to medical care or enough to eat. One child in ten dies before reaching their fifth birthday and half the country’s children fail to complete their schooling. 400,000 people are affected by Cyclone Giri, which struck Myanmar on 22 November 2010 – two years after Cylone Nargis devastatedthe country, killing more than 130,000 people, half of whom were children.

But the worst problems facing Burma’s children today is the Burmese army is forcibly recruiting children to cover gaps left by a lack of adult recruits. In Burma the Tatmadaw (Army) exercises absolute power of life and death over every civilian, including children. Soldiers act with complete impunity, particularly in rural areas, and are not answerable to any laws which exist on paper in Rangoon. Children are often shot on sight in free-fire zones, tortured or executed as “suspected rebels”, used for forced labour, forcibly conscripted into the Army and otherwise subject to direct abuse. They also suffer from the destruction of the village environment and the economy under SLORC (State Law & Order Restoration Council) policies, which are leading to widespread malnutrition and the death of children, the lack of educational opportunities, and other factors which rob them of a childhood.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) says children as young as 10 are beaten or threatened with arrest to make them enlist. Both the army and ethnic rebels have been accused of using children before. But the timing of this report is particularly damaging for the military, which is already under pressure after a crackdown on anti-government protests. The military insists it is opposed to the use of child soldiers, but HRW says the abuses were extensive and systemic. It said it had published the report to try to urge the United Nations Security Council to tackle the issue…(to be continue)

Sources: Wikipedia and BBC

© tranthuhien for East Villagers Non-Profit Community News, 2010. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Today, I watched the 2009 documentary film The Last Train Home by Lixin Fan. The film has left me feeling helpless and even guilty about migrant workers in China.

The film chronicles the struggles of a married couple who are migrant workers. Their job is to sew together American brand-name jeans in a factory in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. The Zhang couple’s son and daughter live a two-day train ride away in a village in Sichuan Province with their grandmother. Qin is the Zhang family’s elder daughter, who just started high school when filming begins. The rural landscape in the village in Sichuan is depicted in stark contrast to the urban, industrial factories in Guangzhou. Qin helps her grandmother with farmwork, and her grandmother constantly reminds both of the children to study hard. The Zhang’s son, in particular, is nagged at for dropping in rank from number three in the class to number five.

Mrs. Zhang describes how she decided to leave Qin at the age of one with her husband to work as a migrant worker. The parents only see their children once a year during Chinese New Year, and the grandparents raised them. The children’s grandfather recently died, who was a confidante and father figure to Qin. As the story develops, it is evident that the relationship between Qin and her parents is far from friendly. Both the parents and Qin seem to have resentment over their situation. Qin resents that her parents were never present to emotionally support her and that they never followed through on promises to return to the village and end their lives as migrant workers. Qin’s parents resent that they have no authority in their childrens’ lives, and that the reason they became migrant workers was to financially support Qin, but she is ungrateful. The climax of the film occurs after Qin decides to drop out of school and become a migrant workers as well. She feels confined in school and wants to earn money for herself because “freedom is happiness.” However, her parents are strongly opposed, and eventually travel to Qin’s factory to return her back home. Crowds wait for up to one week to get onto a train out of Guangzhou and return home for the Chinese New Year. In the beginning, Qin laughs as the crowd pushes, but it soon becomes clear that the situation is serious. The police attempt to maintain control, but people are hungry and exhausted. Some are nearly trampled in the crowd and are shown gasping for air and yelling for loved ones with sweat all over their faces. When the Zhangs finally return home, Mrs. Zhang tells her son that she promises that she will finally quit being a migrant worker and stay at home. Qin remarks that she never keeps her promise. This escalades into an altercation between Qin and her father, with Qin challenging the authority of her father and her father saying that he cannot tolerate her any longer.

Interspersed with the story of the Zhangs are the comments of other migrant workers. One comments about the 40-inch waistline jeans that they sew for Americans. he says that no Chinese person would ever need to wear those jeans. Another comments that he makes 2000 yuan in a month, 1800 of which he saves. An American, if he earned 2000 yuan in a month, would spend all 2000.

The film left me feeling quite helpless and guilty. I believe that this film showed the genuine reality that many Chinese people face. I have travelled throughout China, and was sometimes annoyed at the reactions that I would receive simply from being a foreigner. I could mentally understand the poverty, but this movie showed the emotional aspect of the poverty. As an American, it also made me feel guilty about the negative perceptions about my country, but realize its basis in the reality of outsourcing.

Last Train Home Trailer

© Karina for East Villagers Non-Profit Community News, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: China, factories, rural migration

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Henry – He might look like just any other kid in the loud bunch of 30 migrant children in Shanghai.  He did not attempt to get our attention.  He followed what we told him to do.  Over time, these characteristics helped me see more and more each day why he was so special.  When we asked him to draw what he wanted to be when he grew up, many kids were ashamed or did not have any ideas.  They did not want to draw anything out of the norm in fear of being doubted or laughed at.  Many girls copied each other and drew a nurse or singer.  The boys drew policemen.  While Henry turned in his paper, I took a close look at it: “When I grow up, I want to be a doctor.”  A quiet boy with big ambitions, he was.

The last day was when these kids touched me tremendously, and Henry helped me to see more the capacity of these children to receive and give love.  During lunch, the kids quickly shoved food down their mouth so they can quickly go outside to play and run around.  The last lunch, I was eating slowly and turned around, Henry was already finished with lunch.  Confused I asked him, are you full? Aren’t you going outside to play?  He shyly replied, “This is your last day…I want to say here with you guys.”  I folded origami with him and the kids in the classroom.  It turned out that the boys saved their snack change to pitch in and buy me a beautiful set of inked pens.  Henry started to lead his friends in our group to listen more to me and my co-teacher.  I am very proud of Henry and I will never forget the migrant kids in Shanghai.

© nancy for East Villagers Non-Profit Community News, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh